1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit, and more particularly to a semiconductor integrated circuit having monitor-elements used for monitoring characteristics of functional elements formed in the same integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Integration scale and integration density of integrated circuits have been remarkably enhanced with minimization of or reduction in transistor size. In other words, the reduction in transistor size has brought the increase in the integration scale and the intergration density. However, affection of deviation of manufacturing process to a plurality of transistors has been also adversely increased. For example, a fluctuation or deviation in channel length among transistors having small, reduced sizes, particularly relatively short channel length largely affects electrical characteristics of the transistors such as current flowing capability thereof, and the above fluctuation or deviation in the transistor characteristics is dependent on arrangement of the transistors on the semiconductor substrate.
For example, a transistor which is apart from other transistors has a different characteristics from that of a transistor which is adjacent to other transistors due to the mutual affection therebewteen. Thus, comparative relation of transistor characteristics among transistors are lowerd even when such transistors have been designed to have the same characteristics. For example, a pair of transistors are used as input transistors to form a differential amplifier. However, if there is generated a fluctuation of characteristics between the above pair of transistors through manufacturing process, circuit characteristics of the differential amplifier are largely lowered.
Under the above circumstance, it has been desired to analyze relationship between fluctuation in characteristics of transistors and location of the transistors, and to reflect the analyzed result on designing integrated circuits.
Heretofore, it has been practiced to form a monitor transistor together with functional transistors on the same semiconductor substrate and characteristics of the functional transistors are indirectly checked by measuring the characteristics of the monitor transistor.
However, according to the conventional technique, it is impossible to analyze relative deviation between a plurality of transistors formed adjacently on the same substrate through the monitor transistor. In this connection, it may be conceived to form a plurality of monitor transistors on the same semiconductor substrate. In this case, however, a number of pads coupled to the monitoring transistors for measuring characteristics of the monitor transistors is inevitably increased to occupy a relatively large area on the semiconductor substrate. This would be a large obstacle for improving the integration density and would also be impractical.